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What are the roles of the Holy Ghost?

The Holy Ghost, a member of the Godhead, bears witness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He is the source of personal testimony and revelation. He can guide us in our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger. He is known as the Comforter, and He can calm our fears and fill us with hope. Through His power, we are sanctified as we repent, receive saving ordinances, and keep our covenants. It is through the influence of the Holy Ghost that we receive knowledge of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and feel Their power, goodness, and love.

Prepare yourself spiritually

What experiences have taught you about the roles of the Holy Ghost?

How can the Holy Ghost help the young women in all aspects of their lives? How can you help them recognize His influence?

What scriptures and other resources will help the young women understand the roles of the Holy Ghost?

Teaching in the Savior’s way

The Savior loved those He taught. He prayed for them and continually served them. How can you increase your love for the young women you teach?

Share experiences

At the beginning of each class, invite the young women to share, teach, and testify about the experiences they have had applying what they learned in the previous week’s lesson. This will encourage personal conversion and help the young women see the relevance of the gospel in their daily lives.

Introduce the doctrine

Choose from these ideas or think of your own to introduce this week’s lesson:

Invite the young women to write about a time when they have felt the influence of the Holy Ghost in their lives. What did they do to receive His influence? What difference did His influence make? If appropriate, have several of them share their experiences.

Invite the young women to sing “Let the Holy Spirit Guide” (Hymns, no. 143) and to share what the words teach them about the roles of the Holy Ghost.

Learn together

Each of the activities below will help the young women understand the roles of the Holy Ghost. Following the inspiration of the Spirit, select one or more that will work best for your class:

Write the following questions on the board: Why do we need the Holy Ghost? How can the Holy Ghost help us? Invite the young women to search Elder Gary E. Stevenson’s talk “How Does the Holy Ghost Help You?” or watch the video “Voice of the Spirit,” looking for answers to the questions on the board. As appropriate, share experiences you have had with receiving inspiration from the Holy Ghost, and invite the young women to share any experiences they have had. They could also share things they will do to better listen for and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Divide the young women into groups, and invite each group to study a section of President Henry B. Eyring’s talk “The Holy Ghost as Your Companion” or Elder Robert D. Hales’s talk “The Holy Ghost.” Invite each group to share with the class what they learn about the Holy Ghost. Invite young women to share experiences when the Holy Ghost helped them or when they were grateful for His companionship.

Invite the young women to look in the hymnbook in the “Topics” index under “Holy Ghost” to find a hymn that teaches about how the Holy Ghost can help us. Ask them to share lines from the hymns they chose. Consider singing one of the hymns as a class.

Divide the young women into small groups. Ask each group to read a few scriptures about the Holy Ghost (such as those suggested in this outline). Invite one young woman from each group to share with the rest of the class what her group’s scriptures teach about the roles of the Holy Ghost. Invite the young women to share personal experiences they have had in which the Holy Ghost has helped them in any of these ways.

Invite the young women to read “Roles of the Holy Ghost” in True to the Faith (page 82). Ask each young woman to select one of the Holy Ghost’s roles and look for scriptures or scriptural stories that teach about that role. Invite the young women to share with each other what they find. Encourage them to share experiences in which the Holy Ghost helped them in these ways. What are some future situations in which they will need the help of the Holy Ghost?

Find some stories from recent general conference talks that illustrate the various roles of the Holy Ghost. Consider including President Henry B. Eyring’s experience with his son or with the Austrian Saints in “My Peace I Leave with You” or Elder Juan A. Uceda’s experience as a missionary in Peru in his talk “The Lord Jesus Christ Teaches Us to Pray.” Invite each young woman to read one of the stories, retell it to the class in her own words, and identify what role the Holy Ghost was playing in that story. Encourage the young women to share their own experiences in which the Holy Ghost has helped them in any of these ways.

Ask the young women to share what they learned today. What feelings or impressions do they have? Do they understand the roles of the Holy Ghost? Do they have any additional questions? Would it be helpful to spend more time on this doctrine?

Teaching tip

“As you prayerfully prepare to teach, ... you may be led to emphasize certain principles. You may gain an understanding of how best to present certain ideas. You may discover examples, object lessons, and inspiring stories in the simple activities of life. You may feel impressed to invite a particular person to assist with the lesson. You may be reminded of a personal experience that you can share” (Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 48).

Live what we are learning

Invite the young women to consider how they will live by what they have learned today. For example, they could:

Determine one way they can better prepare themselves to hear the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost.

Write down and act on impressions they receive from the Holy Ghost during the week.

Share with the young women what they will be studying next week. What can they do to prepare to learn? For example, they could read a talk, watch a video, or study a scripture related to next week’s lesson.